Trouble reading today's article? Click
here: Issue #263 - Sunday, April 30, 2017 Dear Fellow Grower,
In today's issue we focus on plant training techniques! - Learn how to grow even the most finicky Sativa strains indoors!
- Get the answer to some of the most common grow questions!
- Check out the Trophy Pics of the Week which feature the incredible results one grower got with an auto-flowering plant under CFLs!
Nebula Haze & Sirius Fourside (founders of GrowWeedEasy.com) "The will to succeed is important, but what's more important is the will to
prepare."
~Bobby Knight
How to Grow Sativa Plants Indoors
by Nebula Haze |
A big "Thank You" to alltatup who inspired this tutorial! |
Growing & Caring for Finicky Sativa Strains Indoors
When it comes to growing cannabis indoors, there are two main
varieties that are cultivated for their buds: Indica and Sativa strains. While Indica plants tend to stay small and manageable (which can be convenient for indoor growing), Sativa plants are typically a little tougher to care for indoors.
Sativa strains originated from hotter regions near the equator with long growing seasons, and as a result they carry a few properties from their family history that can catch an indoor grower by surprise!
Example of two Sativa plants (Panama strain) grown indoors. Sativa strains produce big and tall plants that can get out of control quickly in a small grow space! Sativa plants really thrive outdoors when they have unlimited space to grow! Why do we still try to grow Sativa plants indoors if it's tough? In part, because Sativa strains often have
amazing and unique buds effects, and produce very high yields when done right :)
Note: It is rare to find a "pure" Sativa strain since that's a loose definition, and nearly all marijuana strains available today are some sort of hybrid. The following tutorial is all about strains with a lot of Sativa plants in their
ancestry and which carry a lot of common Sativa characteristics!
Typical Indica vs Sativa plant
These two plants were grown indoors together under the same conditions from seed to harvest. The short Indica plant produced half the yields of the 5-foot Sativa! A big part of this is the fact that the Sativa plant got big enough to take full advantage of all the lights, while the Indica stayed short. Buds often have "foxtails" (buds grow in little towers) and/or may be relatively "wild" or leafy looking Just for reference, this is what that same Sativa strain (Kaya Gold) looks like when buds are grown indoors under LED grow lights This is what the buds of a "true" landrace Sativa looks like - basically all foxtails! Most available "Sativa" strains are actually hybrids with at least a little Indica genes
mixed in to help increase bud density and improve overall structure. Example of untrimmed, dried buds of a Blue Dream plant, a very popular Sativa-leaning cannabis hybrid that's become well known for being easy to grow, its dreamy effects and its desirable yields. pic by Psychonaught
General Appearance of Sativa Plants
- Often have long, skinny leaves
- Generally stretchy appearance with lots of side branching and plenty of space between sets of leaves (as opposed to the short, squat Christmas tree shape of an Indica plant).
- Tend to grow tall and fast throughout their life, and may double or even triple in height after entering the flowering
stage!
- Buds often have "foxtails" and may be loose or airy compared to Indica buds, which tend to be solid and dense. However, a well-bred Sativa strain can still often out-produce an Indica in the same conditions because everything about the plant grows so big and so fast.
Long, thin "fingers" on Sativa leaves, compared to Indica leaves which tend to be round and fat.
Sativa plants tend to grow tall, with lots of stem between leaves and extensive side branching Bud Effects
Sativa buds tend to give a more cerebral "in-your-head" effect than the more "body-based" Indica effects. Sativa buds may feel more energizing, so some people prefer Sativa strains for daytime use or in social settings.
A Sativa-based strain with a little bit of
Indica genes The buds from a "pure" Sativa strain - Although the buds are airy and a little strange looking, some of these old Sativa strains produce unique mental effects that you just
don't find anywhere else. Dried leafy buds of a "pure" Sativa. Only a few decades ago in the USA, this type of cannabis was common! Now you'll almost never see buds like this unless you grow them
yourself. Environment and Nutrients - Sativa
plants generally respond well to high levels of light and don't mind a little heat, but can easily get stressed by cold temperatures
- Can be nutrient sensitive, especially in dry heat, low light levels or if plant does not have many leaves. Not uncommon to see nutrient burn or Nitrogen toxicity at standard-strength nutrient levels.
- It's a good idea
to give lower levels of Nitrogen if you see an N toxicity, to help encourage as much bud growth as possible. You don't want to give zero Nitrogen, but be on the lookout for dark green leaves!
Example of buds on a Sativa plant that is suffering from a Nitrogen Toxicity (too much Nitrogen) in the flowering stage. Nitrogen "tells" the plant to focus on vegetative growth, and the plant keeps putting out more and more sugar leaves if given too much N in the flowering stage, which can get dark, bent, and eventually even yellow again as the toxicity goes on. Growing Tips - Vegetative Stage
- Sativa plants respond well to LST (low stress training), and are difficult to stress once they're growing fast.
- If you're naturally seeing a significant amount of stem between sets of leaves (as is common with many Sativa strains), defoliation can sometimes do more harm than good. With a stretchy plant, the buds and inside of the plant are often already as exposed as they need to be for optimum results. Defoliation is most effective at increasing yields of bushy plants where buds get hidden by leaves, which is much less common with Sativa than Indica strains!
You might not want to choose Sativa-based strains if you're using a small grow space like this! Example of a Sativa plant that's 2 feet tall at only 5 weeks old, and already had to be topped to keep it short! This is very typical vegetative growth structure for a Sativa
plant. Growing Tips - Flowering Stage
- Sativa strains may need 3+ months in the flowering stage to be ready to harvest on the standard 12/12 flowering light schedule. In order to "hurry them along" they may need longer than average nights until harvest, for example an 11/13, 10/14 or even 8/16 light schedule!
- Can be more common to get hermies, especially under stress or close to harvest if buds are not pollinated. If buds appear mostly done and suddenly throw out a bunch of bananas (a type of hermie), it could mean it's time to harvest
Sativa plant in the flowering stage - may grow with lots of stem between sets of
leaves If you initiate the flowering stage when the plant is still very small, you may end up with just one long bud like this Example of the power of Sativa cannabis plants when they're trained to grow flat and wide during the vegetative stage - look at all those huge Sativa colas that are all the same
distance from the grow light! These plants still have several weeks of fattening left to go before harvest! Sativa buds may be more airy than Indica-leaning buds on average, but they make up for it with good yields, fast growth and soaring, memorable bud effects! This Sativa-leaning Chem Dawg strain grows mind-altering buds that feel "up" but still relaxing!
(learn slightly different harvest techniques for Sativa vs Indica
plants)
Get the Answers to Common Grow Questions! |
There's no such thing as a dumb question when it comes to growing cannabis! Plants are living things and they don't always act the way you expect!
So today I wanted to share the answers
to some of the more common growing questions.
You'll get answers to questions like...
- Can I stick a seed in
soil and watch it grow?
- How can I tell if a seed is good?
- Do I NEED special nutrients?
- And many
more!
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Thanks for all your hard work and effort with the site. It has been by far the most helpful resource in learning about growing. I also appreciate that you don't have comments. Thanks again.
Adam
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Trophy Pictures of the Week! |
Well here she is, baby Swiss Cheese auto from Nirvana. She's supposed to have a cheese taste with a peppery aftertaste, and
have a very strong penetrating smell when growing. 🐽 Also high in CBD and medium THC, with a powerful cerebral high. 😊 I'm growing her in a 5 gallon smartpot, using 5 lbs of Kind soil on bottom, and the top filled with Ocean Forest. As with Bubba 2, I am using as many 100 equivalent watt CFL light bulbs as I can manage to surround her with.
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Here is that plant 54 days later on harvest day! Harvested over 2 days....the lower branches were slightly more developed and went first...then the top colas went into overdrive and were solidly ready one day later! Excellent quantity of buds...some went immediately into 2 different
kinds of extracts...both alcohol and oil, which are not going to be decarbed so that I can capture the beneficial THCA and CBDA (cannabinoid acids)
Interesting look to the stump that was topped at second node....very thick and beefy....even grew freely around one of the wire staples holding it down! As with my
previous Bubba2, I give much credit to the Kind soil used, since all I had to do is plain water and to train. And of course keeping CFL lights as close as possible to all parts.
Cannabis is such a remarkable plant, and I don't think I'll ever get bored with growing it! 😊🌿
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Who Runs This
Newsletter? |
Nebula Haze:
I'll be honest with you, when I first started growing, I struggled. Now, it is my mission to
make it easier for new growers to get started as well as help advanced growers get bigger, better yields with less time and money. We are updating and adding articles every single week and our goal is to eventually build a comprehensive growing resource so anyone and everyone can grow if they want to! If we all share the knowledge there's more buds in the world for everyone :) |
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Learn which seed sources are personally recommended by Nebula Haze |
Sirius Fourside:
Sirius Fourside is a hobbyist grower who has gained the bulk of his experience growing in water as a medium (deep water culture, bubbleponics).
"Growing cannabis can be a relaxing hobby in and of itself, but it also saves you money and keeps you from having to deal with shady characters. Cannabis is much easier to grow than people give it credit for, and growing in water
doesn't increase the difficulty much, if any. But whether you want to grow in water, coco, or a different medium, we'll show you how easy it can be!"
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